2012-13 Review: No. 2 – Men’s Basketball vs. Mary Washington

BUENA VISTA, Va.—As Southern Virginia University Athletics gears up for the 2013-14 season we are taking a look back at the top five contests from last year.

It is an exciting time for Southern Virginia as the Knights prepare for their first season of competition in the Capital Athletic Conference and second year as provisional NCAA Division III members.

Each week leading up to fall competition, we will highlight one significant game from this past season to build excitement for another successful campaign for the Knights.

No. 2—The "Teal Game" to Support Brooks Family, Earn Record Home Win Streak

Jan. 23, 2013—On a night when the Southern Virginia University men's basketball team dedicated its performance to Nattie Brooks, wife of senior shooting guard Payton Brooks (Beaverton, Ore.), the Knights pulled off a 63-53 comeback victory over the University of Mary Washington to extend their home winning streak to a school record 24 games.

Nattie, who had not missed a single Knight home game in two and a half years, was unable to attend the game due to a chemotherapy treatment following a prior diagnosis with Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (GTD).

The team paid tribute to her by wearing teal socks in front of a record crowd of 250 fans.

"We really wanted to win that game for Nattie and it was great to have such a large crowd," said head coach Tony Caputo. "We felt like we were playing for something more than the game, so it was a good experience for the team."

After a slow start against the future Capital Athletic Conference opponent, the Knights bridged a 19-11 deficit with a 21-13 run to end the half locked at 32 points apiece. Fueled with momentum, Southern Virginia opened the second half on a 23-3 run over 11 minutes to gain what proved to be an insurmountable 20-point lead with under nine minutes remaining.

UMW did manage to cut the Knight lead to 10 points with under a minute left in the game, but Southern Virginia claimed the victory for a fourth consecutive win and 24th straight win at Knight Sports Arena. The Knights caused 20 turnovers during the game to lead to 14 fast break points.